DETROIT -- Darren McCarty remembers many flights on Red Bird One, sitting with Igor Larionov and Slava Fetisov, playing dominoes with the Russian hockey legends and listening to tales about the not-so-good old days in the former Soviet Union.

"Unbelievable, it's two different worlds," McCarty said. "It's something you hear about but can't fully understand exactly what they went through to come over here and play. The sacrifices they made for their country and younger guys, it's something that should never be forgotten.''

Larionov was the slick-passing center on CSKA Moscow's famed KLM Line in the 1980s and on the Detroit Red Wings' Russian Five unit in the 1990s, a player often compared to Wayne Gretzky. He helped break down barriers and enable more Russian players to join the NHL.

Larionov will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight in Toronto (7:30 p.m., NHL Network), joining his close friend and former teammate, Fetisov.

Larionov, 47, called it a special and emotional day. He said he is proud to be recognized for his achievements in the former Soviet Union, where he won Olympic gold medals in 1984 and '88, four World Championships and the 1981 Canada Cup. But he said his biggest accomplishment came during his eight seasons with the Red Wings, from 1995 to 2003.

"Those were unbelievable years. I was proud to be part of that team,'' Larionov said. "I had a chance to play the style I was taught to play in Russia -- puck control, possession, skating and creativity. It was incredible.''

Former Red Wings coach and player personnel director Scotty Bowman acquired Larionov from San Jose for Ray Sheppard on Oct. 24, 1995. He was the last piece of the five-man Russian unit that featured forwards Sergei Fedorov and Slava Kozlov and defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Fetisov. They helped the club end a 42-year championship drought in 1997. Larionov also was an instrumental part of Detroit's Stanley Cup-winning clubs in 1998 and 2002.

"It was the type of hockey we hadn't seen before, other than when we watched the old Russian teams on TV,'' Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood said. "He was the first guy who brought it over here, where he would hold onto (the puck) for a long time and make different types of passes. They wouldn't just dump pucks in, they'd get them back to the (defense) and pass them back and forth, kind of the way we play now.''

"Scotty let us play our style and that was a huge advantage for us,'' Larionov said. "It was all about the team. I tried to help the guys around me be successful.''

Growing up in Sweden, Nicklas Lidstrom watched Larionov, Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov dominate games as the KLM Line.

"When I watched him play on TV when I was younger, I thought he was bigger, but he's kind of a short guy (5-foot-9), wasn't very heavy (170), but he was a very good skater and very smart with the puck,'' Lidstrom said. "Anyone that saw him could see he was in tremendous shape, that's why he played so long and why early on his skating was so good, because he was so strong.''

Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk said Larionov was a tremendous influence for him on and off the ice.

"I learned from him a lot; he was one of the guys who make it happen for us younger guys,'' Datsyuk said. "He taught me real Russian traditional hockey -- keep the puck, don't give it away, make plays and make good, smart passes and give-and-go. He didn't take lots of shots but he'd do an unbelievable defensive job.''

Larionov retired in 2004 at 43, after one season with the New Jersey Devils, capping a professional career that spanned a quarter century.

Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby said he will never forget the triple-overtime goal Larionov scored in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals against Carolina in 2002, or his fight with Peter Forsberg, which triggered the memorable brawl with Colorado on March 26, 1997.

"He was just a class act, very generous person, very polite,'' Maltby said. "Business-like at times, but genuine.''

His nickname, "The Professor,'' suited Larionov.

"He didn't go to too many movies with us, kind of did what maybe most of us should be doing, reading a book or just learning something different instead of seeing a slapstick comedy,'' Maltby said. "He enjoyed good food and a nice bottle of wine with dinner. If it wasn't chess or something along those lines, it was a book.''

Larionov already was one of the best players in the world when he broke into the NHL at 29 with the Vancouver Canucks in 1989, winning a lengthy battle to gain his release from the oppressive Soviet regime, where players often were confined to barracks for 11 months out of the year.

"I thought it was the worst of times when we had practice at 6 in the morning in minor hockey and your feet got cold,'' Maltby said. "To go through what those guys went through, the dictatorship -- not just government, but hockey -- you're very thankful. For a lot of the younger Russian guys that are over here now, or even over there, these guys (Larionov and Fetisov) paved the way for a better life, especially in the hockey world.''

Larionov will be inducted into the Hall along with Glenn Anderson, a high-scoring forward for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s, longtime linesman Ray Scapinello and the late Ed Chynoweth, who was president of the Canadian Hockey League for 20 years.